Elder Yi, however, was quite pleased. “Since you also possess this skill, you two truly are a match made in heaven.”
He took off the bead bracelet from his wrist. “Here, Aotian, this is a gift from your father-in-law.”
Yi Changhai was shocked at the sight—that string of beads was the old man’s favorite possession, polished for many years, and now he was giving it to this so-called Aotian, even calling himself “father”!
That meant he had accepted her as his daughter-in-law!
He had been planning to push Xue Wan’s niece onto Yi Jingnian and couldn’t let this Aotian ruin it!
Yi Changhai quickly exclaimed, “Dad, wait! We haven’t even asked about this girl’s background yet!”
“Look at her—she won’t even take off her sunglasses, hiding her face like that. She clearly doesn’t look like a decent person!”
Xue Wan chimed in, adding fuel to the fire: “Exactly! Jiang Aotian, where is your family from?”
Jiang Ranran said, “I don’t have a family. I grew up in the wild.”
“The wild?” Xue Wan sneered. “Are you some kind of savage?”
Jiang Ranran nodded. “Yes!”
Xue Wan: “…?”
“N-no way?” Xue Wan was caught off guard. “What do you mean by ‘savage’… Aren’t savages covered in fur?”
Jiang Ranran said, “Yes! I used to be covered in fur too, but I shaved it off.”
Xue Wan: “…??”
Are you even listening to what you’re saying!?
Elder Yi looked at Jiang Ranran thoughtfully and nodded. “Judging by your words and actions, you really do seem like a savage.”
“…”
Jiang Ranran grinned.
She refused to believe that the Yi family, as a top-tier wealthy household, could accept a savage.
Elder Yi suddenly understood. “No wonder Jingnian never showed interest in women before. It turns out he doesn’t like normal humans—he likes savages!”
Jiang Ranran: “…”
Elder Yi was overjoyed and said cheerfully to Yi Jingnian:
“Jingnian, now that you’ve found a savage who suits your taste, you must treat her well from now on.”
A calm smile appeared at the corner of Yi Jingnian’s lips as he replied unhurriedly, “Of course.”
Jiang Ranran watched this and thought to herself, this old man really knows how to act, maintaining such composure without batting an eye.
Elder Yi beckoned to Jiang Ranran. “This is the first time in my life I’ve seen a savage. Here, take this string of beads! They’re bodhi beads, meant to ward off evil spirits. Wearing them can help keep Jingnian in check.”
Jiang Ranran didn’t think a string of prayer beads could keep that man in check and was pondering how to rudely refuse when she heard Yi Jingnian speak.
“Aotian, accept it.”
A few light words, spoken in a low, magnetic voice, gently stirred something in her heart.
Jiang Ranran was taken aback.
She was only a fake fiancée—how could she accept something like this?
Suddenly, it dawned on her—right, she should accept it. That way, she would appear greedy and materialistic, and Elder Yi would surely dislike her.
Jiang Ranran stepped forward, snatched the bracelet, and tucked it into her bosom.
Elder Yi was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. “Hahaha, child, you savages are so straightforward!”
Jiang Ranran twitched the corner of her mouth: “…”
Elder Yi said, “I really admire your honest and unpretentious nature as a savage. Come, sit next to your father-in-law.”
He then called for the servants to bring afternoon tea, along with various fruit and pastry platters, eager to see what savages liked to eat.
“…”
Jiang Ranran had no choice but to sit down, forcing a smile.
Elder Yi asked her, “Aotian, do you know why I particularly favor you?”
Jiang Ranran shook her head.
She truly couldn’t figure it out.
Elder Yi pointed to his own head: “Because there’s something wrong with my brain.”
Jiang Ranran: “…”
Elder Yi sighed: “I often suspect that the people and things around me are all figments of my imagination. I can’t tell whether they truly exist or not…”
“But you, I can be certain, are definitely not my imagination. You truly exist.”
Jiang Ranran couldn’t help but ask: “How can you be so sure I really exist?”
Elder Yi said: “Because I’ve never seen a wild person before. If I had to imagine one myself, I’d have a hard time coming up with something like this.”
Jiang Ranran: “…”
The surrounding servants couldn’t take it anymore. Yi Changhai and Xue Wan were so angry they could only glare.
This Aotian must have known all along that the old man was mentally unstable and deliberately said these nonsensical things to please him… and sure enough, the old man was actually taken in by her!
Elder Yi cheerfully turned to Yi Jingnian, “Jingnian, let’s set your wedding with Aotian for the eighth day of the fourth month! It just so happens that Si Chen is also getting married on the eighth day of the fourth month. You uncle and nephew can marry together—that’ll make it lively…”
Jiang Ranran’s expression changed drastically, and she blurted out: “Absolutely not!”
Elder Yi looked puzzled: “Why not?”
Jiang Ranran: “Uh, because I’m only twenty years old. Actually, I don’t want to get married so soon…”
Elder Yi asked: “Then when do you want to get married?”
Jiang Ranran said: “At the earliest, after I turn thirty-five.”
“Thirty-five?” Elder Yi frowned. “You wild people marry really late…”
“That means Jingnian would have to wait over ten more years for you,” he calculated on his fingers. “Jingnian is nine years older than you. By the time you’re thirty-five, he’ll already be in his forties, almost reaching the age when men start losing their vigor…”
Elder Yi urged Jiang Ranran, “So you might as well marry him now and enjoy his prime years while you can!”
“…”
Jiang Ranran said worriedly: “But if I marry him now, he’ll still be in his forties when I’m thirty-five, still losing his vigor… What am I supposed to do then?”